The Growth-Minded CFO23 Juli 2025

Fundraising, AI, and Starting Smart in 2025, with Jeffrey Fidelman

In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, we sit down with Jeff Fidelman—Founder and Managing Partner at Fidelman & Co.—to talk about how startup fundraising has shifted, what VCs actually want to hear, and why today’s CFOs need more than spreadsheets to lead.

Chapters:

02:00 - Why Fidelman & Co. Was Born from a Market Gap

06:00 - Broken Incentives in Startup Fundraising

09:00 - How the Fundraising Game Changed Since 2021

13:00 - Why Founders Must Talk Like Operators

16:00 - The Role of Financial Models (and How to Build Them Right)

21:00 - Why Top-Down Models Alone Don’t Cut It

25:00 - AI: Useful Tool, Not Magic Bullet

29:00 - AI Use Case: Building an Internal CRM for $300

34:30 - Fundraising Tips for Finance Leaders

37:00 - CFOs as Process Owners During a Raise

38:00 - The Two Types of CFOs (and Why It Matters)

41:00 - Final Reflections on Strategic Thinking and Belief📌 Key takeaways:

Fundraising now takes 6–9 months—build relationships early
VCs invest in operators, not just visions
The best financial models are built with founders, not for them
AI is best used to get hands-on, not to replace human thinking
Strategic CFOs do more than books—they pitch, plan, and believe.

Connect with Jeff ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyfidelman/

Connect with Alex ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexlouisy/

Connect with Lauren ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenepearl/

Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q-J8Ot3ecjQ?si=Pmfbug0McFB4AEmV

Subscribe for more episodes with founders, CFOs, and finance leaders.

The Growth-Minded CFO podcast aims to challenge the status-quo and explore how the best CFOs approach their work and lives. Hosts Lauren Pearl (Fractional CFO, 3-time Founder and Startup Finance Instructor at NYU) and Alex Louisy (FinTech CEO and Y Combinator graduate) speak with inspiring finance and business leaders who’ll share what great CFOs are doing to support high-performing organizations.

This podcast is powered by Upflow - a Financial Relationship Management platform enabling faster payments, stronger customer relationships and efficient growth for your business.

Join thousands of next-level finance leaders and go from chasing invoices to engaging customers. Find out more at ⁠⁠upflow.io

Want to get in touch? Reach out to our producer at joseph.sweeney@upflow.io

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